Method and machine for manufacturing incandescent lamps and similar articles



April 23, 1929. K, MW, 1,710,428

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING INCANDESCENT LAMPS AND SIMILARARTICLES Filed Oct. 5, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor;

Karl Meg, by MW His Attorneg.

K. MEY

April 23, 1929.

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING INCANDESCENT LAMPS AND SIMILARARTICLES Filed Oct. 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet g e M l A WW5 H A ril 23, 1929.K, MEY 1,710,428

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING INCANDESCENT LAMPS AND SIMILARARTICLES Filed Oct. 5, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventor: Karl Meg, by %2H15 Attorney.

April 23, 1929. K. MEY 1,710,428

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING INCQNDESCENT LAMPS AND SIMILARARTICLES Filed Oct. 5, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Inve TTbOT"; Karl Meg,

His Attorney;

' UNITED STA KARL MEY, or BERLIN, GERMANY, AssIeNoN TO GENERAL ErEc'raIcCOMPANY, .A

PatentedApr. 23,

T ns

PATENT. OFFICE].

CORPORATION OF NEW YORK. u

METHOD AND MACHINE ron MANUFAc'rUR G' INGANDESGENT -.ARTICLES.

Appli cation tiled October 5, 1925, Serial No.

In quantity manufacture of electric incandescent lamps, electron tubes,and similar sealed glass vessels with sealed-in inner parts,

, age. This loss was .due tome'ehanical' injury by the handlingnecessary to make the transfer and also to the fact that the lamps,while still hot from the sealing-in machine, or only; partly cooled oil,were in the transfer usually exposed to cold air currents. Then-thereheating of the lamps when being exhausted often caused further loss bybreakage. :To reduce the breakage incurred between the sealing-inmachine and the exhaust machine in the course of manufacture the twomachines have been put close together in a so'- called unit machine, andhave also; been mounted coaxially and one above the "other," by couplingtheir rotary spiders. With this latter arrangement the interior parts ormounts were first sealed into the bulb on the upper spider and the lampwas then taken out by hand and placed on the lower spider where it wasexhausted A transfer is as. necessary when the machines are placed oneabove the other as when they are placed side by side and although it iscarried out more rapidly it still has all thedisadvantages andinconveniences of transferring the sealed-1n vessels I This inventionhas for its object the entire elimination of the disadvantages andinconveniences of transferring the sealed-in vessels. To this end themounts, each consisting of the stem and inner parts of the lamp, arecontinuously and in succession sealed into the bulbs on a singlecarriage, advantageously a rotary spider, which serves to convey themounts and the bulbs, to the sealing-in po s'r tion and then tocon'veythe sealedin vessels to a position where they are exhausted and also ifdesired filled with gas, all without being changedin position on thespider which is preferably actuated step by step. In addition to thedecreased breakage and waste I thus obtained there. is a furtherdecrease'in, thecost of manufacture, since the work of changing eachlamp from the sealing-in ma-v chine tothe-exhaus't machine entirely eliminated.

head which holdsmount;

Figs. 6 and 60,585, and in Germany October 81, 1924.

chine serving to carry out this process and replacing the sealing-inmachines and ex-. hau'st machines hltherto used can be so built that thelamps to be finished pass along a:

LAMPS. AND s1M1LAii- The combined sealing-in and exhaust mastraightpath; it can also however be built to advantage,'as already said; sothat the lamps move along a circular path. As every lamp after passingthrough the various sealing-in and; exhaust positions again returns toits origlnal place, one attendant can set the lamp parts tobe sealedtogether into the machine and remove from it the finished and exhaustedlamps Inthe drawing there is shown, as one ex ampleof construction, amachine constructed 1n accordance with the inventlon and suitable forcarrying'out the new process.

Figs. 1 and 2' show the. mach1ne in dia-.

grammatic illustration in vertical section and intop view;

Fig. 3 shows the exhaust tube of a Figs. 4 and 5show in elevation andplan the mechanism for actuating the devices for .a vertical sectionthrough a releasing and gripping the exhaust tubes set in the heads; k

7 show in' elevation one-of the bulb holding forks, and illustratetheraising and lowering of the bulb holding forks;

Figs. 8 and 9 show in elevation and in top "iew a rotary preheating andsealing-in burnery,

Fig..10 shows a vertical "section through a valve which responds toleaky lamps and .causesthem to be sealed off automatically be'- forethey interfere with the operation of the" vacuum pump; and

.Fig. 11 shows ona larger sc ale'the sealing I off torch and dischargefork in the sealingoff position.

The machine, preferably made with a rotatable spider or turret, andadtantageously rotated .step by step, has, inthe example shown,twenty-four working positions which are marked-11 to 24in Fig. 2. Tilthe 'posi* tions 1 or 2 ,vthe mounts and bulbsare put in theirrespective/holders; inpositiofn 3 the bulb is lowered 'into place. overthe mount;-

inpositioris 4 to 10 the sealing-in of the mounts,"the drawing down ofthe seal, and

the bending up of the leading in wires occur; in positions 11 to 23 theexhaust and also, if desired, the filling of the lamps by gas isaccomplished; and in position 24: the lamp is sealed off and lifted outof the machine. I

The machine consists, as in the usual rotary exhaust machine, of acentral stationary valve-seat a and a rotatable spider having a flatrotary valve I) fitted on the seatand fixed to a rotary shaft c.whi chextends through the. stationary valve seat.

The rotary valve has ports (Z arranged in a circle and corresponding innumber to the working positions of the machine, which in each revolutionof the splder successively .register with parts'in the valve seat aconnected to the variouspipes leadlng into the stationary valve seat toestablish connections through the valve with the atmosphere, the exhaustpumps, not shown, a compressed a1r reservoir, and also with a reservoirof inert gas for filling the lamps. At. the ports 03 of a the rotaryvalve 6 terminate radial tubes f -which open at their outer ends intotheex- I I tube or flare k which has its outer end flared into a flange,the exhaust tube k being longer.

than and concentric with the stem tube, and projecting from it somedistance, as shown in igure 3. For every exhaust head g-there is a bulbholding fork i for holding the bulb is in place over the mount. Theseparateholding forks z' are fixed, either to the relatively rigid tubes7' of the heads or to a special supporting ring which-rotates with therotary valve.

Each exhaust heady consists as shown in Fig. 3, of a tubular boss 9 intowhose central cylindrical bore, somewhat enlarged at the upper end,there is set a tubular rubber stopper I having conical upper and lowerends and fitted between two pressure rings 1 Z advantageously made ofmetal and each ,having a conical recess which fits the adjoining end ofthe stopper Z. The rubber stopper l and the cooperating metal rings land Z have coaxial central bores so as to receive the small exhausttubelz. on the. stem 71. of the mount it. Pivotedon the upper pressurering l 'of the rubber stopper on pivots Z are cen-' tering jaws l forcentering the exhaust tube 72.? and, having inclined cheeks Z. Thecentering jaws are embraced by a tension ring Z? which has atapered boreeooperat'mgwith .the inclined cheecks of the centering jaws and which isslidably mounted in an outer sleeve 9 of the ,head to be under theinfluence of a spiral spring I set into the head'and tending to hold theringagainst the upper end g of the sleeve 9 In the interior of thesleeve 9 two rods m are slidably mounted in grooves 180 apart on thehead. The upper ends of these rods are connected by pins m with thepressure ring Z of the rubber stopper, whilst their lower ends areprovided with pins m which project into two inclined slots at in a cap mwhich is rotatively mounted on the lower end of the boss 9 by a setscrew m In the open position the'parts of the head take the positionshown in Fig. 3. The'bore of the rubber stopper is then so large thatthe exhaust tube can be easily inserted and just as easily again removedfrom the rubber stopper. If however, cap m is turned in such a directionthat its inclined slots m pull down the pins m and with them therods mand the pressure ring Z the rubber stopper is compressed between thestationary pressure ring Z and the movable pressure ring Z until thewalls of the bore of the rubber stopper bear in their entire or almostentire length tightly against the exhaust tube k of 'the mount as aresult of the conical end surfaces of the stopper cooperating with thecorre spondingly conical recesses in the rings Z and Z so that not onlyis the exhaust tube 72. connected airtight to the tube f opening intothe head 9, but at the same time the mount is held fast in its position.When the pressure ring Z is pulled down theclamping jaws 1 car-' ried byit and also the tension ring Z are simultaneously moved downward. Thetension ring Z follows this downward movement however only for a part ofthe way, as

the spiral spring] with a progressive com-- per, tightly againstthe-exhaust tube and 4 center it in an exactly vertical position, so 7that no fear need be had that the mount'may be sealed crookedly into thebulbs. This feature is very-important in the handling 'of the machine,as the attendant nolonger has the responsibility, in the continuoussealing-in and exhausting, of supervising the sealing-in andstraightening out by hand any crookedlysealed-in mount while-the seal isstill. soft. L

. The end of the exhaust tubestill remaining 1n the rubber stopper aftersealing 0E the lamp-is released. by" the opposite rotation of the cap m,.which by its reverse rotation raises the pull rods m together with thepressure ring Z and the clamping jaws Z; The tension r ng Z is likewisemoved upwardly,

- ing and releasing the exhaust tu e is advan tageously produced m twosuccessive Working but only to its initial position,and the upwardmovement of the centering jaws I through thering displace the inclinedcheeks of the centering jaws Z on thering and again allowsthem to assumethe unclamped or open Position. i

The rotati'onof cap mt necessar for clamp positions of the spider,preferably in positions 1 and 2. In these'working positions therearearranged vertically below the heads two rotatable and verticallymovable keysn in two-stationary bosses n, which have upwardly slopingbut relatively displaced bayonet slots n for controlling the guide pinsn on the keys. To the lower ends of the keys are fixed pinions n, whichare in constant engagement with the teeth of an off set double rack aThe latter is at every step of the rotation of the machine moved lionceto the left and right through a pivoted lever n actuated by a cam disc ncontrolled by themachine drive. The movement of the rack it rotates thepinions n andthe keys n solidly connected with them simultaneously ingin the bayonet slots n raise or lower the but'in opposite directions.The pins a slidkeys n, depending on the direction of rotation of thepinions n, and also at the same.

time raise and lower the pinions n, which are made somewhat broader thanthe rack n in I step otlts ,rotatlon, it remains in position for theleft into the order that they may not become disengaged from the rack n?bytheraising and lowering of the keys and pinions which occurssimultaneously with their rotation. At the upper end of each key are twolugs n, which, when the keys are 1n the high position, engagecorrespondingly arranged lugs m of cap m and carrythem along in thedirection of rotation of the keys.

As soon asthe spider has completed one to the left andon the exhausthead at working position 1 has,'by its rotation, caused an upwardmovement of the rods m and thereby the release of the rubber stopper Zand of the centering jaws Z, so that in this working position 1 the endof theexhaust tube k still remaining in the rubber stopper from thesealing-oft is released and can be v removed. Cap m located to the rightand on'the exhaust head at working position 2 has, on the contrary, byits rotation pulled downthe rods m, and thereby automatically broughtthe rubber stopper 1 and the centerin 'aws 1 into the clam in osition sothat the 'new mount previously inserted by the attendant has in thisworking position 2, its exhaust tube clamped fast simultaneously withthe release of the sealed off exhaust tube in position 1. As the twoheads still remain for a short time, about two sec- -onds,.in positionafter the rotation of their caps, the attendant can-also each time,after the release and .removalof the sealed off exhaust tube end,insert, at working position 1, a new mount into'the open rubber stopper,which then, when the head reaches the working position 2, is clampedfast automatically in the working position 2 during the release of thenext following sealed off exhaust'tube end.- Whilst the heads stillremain in the two working positions 1 and 2 shown, the rack moves, asshown by the arrows, into the right hand position. The pinions n andkeys 9% are thereby likewise moved in the c opposite direction wherebythe key lugs 11; are moved away from the lugs of the caps m which remainin position. The parts of the head. at working'position 2 and shown tothe right in Fig. 4 thus are left in the closed position and remain soduring the further travel of the spider until this head completes onerevolution and again reaches the position shown to the left in Figure 4,that is, the working position 1, where the re lease of the sealed oflexhaust tube end occurs simultaneously with the closing of the precedinghead which is inworking position 2.

Thekeys n acting on the heads need not necessarily be placed in twoadjacent working positions of the machine. The key which effects theclamping in of the newly inserted mount may, for example, be placed inworking position 3 or 4;

"Each bulb holder consists ofa bulb holding fork i fixed to the upperend of a vertically movable rod 6 Each rod i is slidably mounted in afixed guide 1' which travels with the machine and is, during the time inwhich the heads and the holding forks travel through the sealing-in andexhaust positions, held in its lower position by a flat stop spring ifixed to-the guide 2' to enter an upper holding notch in the rod 2' inwhich position the bulb is setin the holding fork, encloses the mountit. Shortly before orduring the introduction of the bulbs into theholding forks the rods 71 are automatically raised so that theyintroduction of the bulbs can cause .no damage to the mounts h setsimultaneously or shortly beforein the rubber stopper sy 1. For thispurpose there is arranged at elther working position 1 or 2 in astationary part 0 of the machine a vertically movable lifter 0 overwhich the rod i of the holding fork 11 comes when it reaches thatworking position. Whilst the like stop spring 5" snaps into asecond'lowerholding notch of rod i and thus locks it,

' together with the holding fork, in the high position. As 'soonas'this,has been accomplishcd the attendant can introduce b'ulbk,

without damaging mount it introduced into the underlying rubber stoppersimultaneously or somewhat earlier or later.

In the working. position 3, in which the holding fork moves into the lowposition,

there is likewise supported on a stationary bracket gnwhich may also bein one )iece with the frame part 0, a vertically (lisp aceable pull rod79 which carries at its upper end a spring controlled pawl 2 This pullrod. is also actuated once by the drive of the machine at every stoppageof the spider, and is advantageously first pulled downand then pushedup.In the downward movement the pawl 12 engaging with a notch z" of the rod2' carries along the rod by forcing back the pawl like spring i until atthe end of the downward movement the pawl like spring '5 again snapsinto the upper notch of rod 11 and thereby secures the rod, togetherwith the holding'fork, in the low position. V The bulb is set into theholding fork is thus automatically placed over the mount it. \Vhile theholding fork-still remains in'this work ing position, or as soon as a.new holding fork reaches this working position, the pull rod p movesupward, during which the pawl 72 moves out of the way and thus does notinfluence rod 71 In the sealing-in positions 4 to 8 the superposed bulbis sealed to the mount it clamped fast in the head 9 by the rotatingpreliminary heating and sealing in burners. Each burner consists of arotatable fork g, Fig. 8, cmbracing the bulb from the top and consistingof parallel tubes having, at their lower ends, burner nozzles 9 Thecentral feed tube placed axially of the bulb acts as tin; axle for therotating tube fork and for this purpose it is rotatively supported intwo stationary bearings and g. Between these two bearings there ismounted on each tube g a pinion 7 The pinions r of all tube forks areconnected to one another by intermediate gears, 1' and are all rotatedin the same direction by a driving gear 9 engaging with one of theseintermediate gears. In order that the tube forks may not interfere withone another in this rotation theyare advantageously, as shown in Fig. 2,angularly displaced relative to one another. The gears 1' 1* rotated bythe machine drive are always automatically stopped .when the spider ismaking a partial rotation to move' the holding devices with themountsand bulbs from one position to the next, and stop in such aposition that the bulbs pass unhindered through the tube forks and donot strike against one or the other tube forks. The gears are stopped bya locking gear, which acts on the vertical shaft 1'? of gear 7*. Thelocking gear consists of a locking wheel skeyed on shaft 1", a springinfluenced locking pawl s and an actuating pawl 8 The latter carries aroller 8 which runs on a cam disc s kept in continuous rotation by themachine drive. During the stoppage of the spider this roller 8 runs onthe raisedcam part of'disc 8 with the result that the actuating pawl stakes the position shown in dotted lines and the looking pawl s is alsopressed into the dotted line position against the actionof spring 8 Thelocking wheel 8 is thereby released and during thestoppage of themachine renders possible a rotation of shaft 1" of the toothed wheels1", r, r and of the-tube forks g together with tlie burners g As soon asthe spider makes a partial rotation, the roller runs off theraised campart, and the spring 8 comes into action and presses the pawls s s intothe positions shown in full lines. the locking pawl s then preventsafurther rotation of the gears and holds the tube forks fast in adefinite position \vhich allows free passage to the bulbs.

The upper ends of the rotatable burner feed tubes g open into fixedlysupported stufling boxes 9 into which gas is continually fed from acommon source of supply. In

used rotatably supported valves regulatingthe feed of the gas. I Inorder to be able to regulate the burner action, the tube forks g areadvantageously arranged sothat they ca be adjusted in height. For thispurpos there is screwed into the upper stationary framebox g? of everyfork a sleeve g which receives the tube 9 and on the upper flange rim gof which there rests a connection g of tube with the interposition of aball hearing 9. As soon as sleeve 9'' is turned to the left or right,there is produced either a raising or a lowering of the tube fork g. Inorder that the gear r placed on tube 9" may remain in position, a pinand slot connection is provided between it and the tube. The adjustmentin height of the burner flames can also be produced byarranging theburner nozzles to 'be adjustable. Such adjustable burner'nozzles canalso he used with tube becomes possible by adjustment of the tubeforksand a fine adjustment of the same by the movement of the. burnernozzles.

In order that, during the sealingdn process, the part of the exhausttube located directly under thestem 71 'of the mount and the leading-inwires t depending along the exhaust tube h? may not be'damaged bytheburner flames, the outer sleeves g of every head is, shortly before theintroductionpf every bulb into the first sealing-in posit on 4, raisedso far that the narrower neck part 9 of the sleeve connecting with theend g 'em-' braces the exhaust tube 71. with the leading in wire -t andthat the flange g of the sleeve comesto bear on the stem k of the mount.

7 The flange of the outer sleeve 9 then forms during the'sealing-inprocess a support for I the stem of the mount so that the/mount cannotbe fused into the bulb in a slanting position. The raising of the outersleeve 9 'is effected by means of a roller 9 arranged on the lower rimof the sleeve and which, before the head, together with the mountandbulb reaches working position 4', runs onto a stationary cam g of themachine. It is advantageous to so form the upper surface of the curvedcam g that sleeve 9 is at first only partly raised and. is completelyraised only shortly before coming into the second sealing-in position 5.Before the head leaves tlie last sealing-in position 8, the separationofthe superfluous bulb neck iseifected close below-the stem h? at thesealing zone. The

a separated bulb neck k drops down and remains suspended on the outersleeve 9 as shown "in dotted lines in Fig. 3. Shortly after the lastsealing-in position 8 the roller 9 again runs off the stationary cam g",causing an automatic lowering of the outer sleeve g with a release ofthe protected exhaust tube. Before the head with the now sealedinmountreaches working position 9 the superfluous bulb neck is hanging tothe outer sleeve is automatically destroyed by two stationary checks atforming a narrow passage through which the upper part of the head passesin its travel from working position 8 to working position 9.

. In t-heworking position 9 the two segmentlike burners a are mounted tofurther heat the sealing-in zone .of the bulb neck still hot from thesealing-inprocess, so that the seal formed at the stem 71. can be pulleddown or somewhatstret'ched' in this working position.

This is done by a slight raising of the bulb holding fork by means of alifter not shown, but similar to the lifter 0 at position 2 which assoon as the lamp has stopped: for a few moments in working position 9 israised very slightly by the drive of the machine similarly to lifteno'A's however in this slight raising of the bulb holdingfork with thesealed in bulb in it the mount'is held fast by the grip on the exhausttube b of the compressed rubber stopper and the centering jaws, theouter edge'of thehot softened flange of the stem tube is slightly bentupwards and there by. the seal is drawn down somewhat with anequalization of the glass and removal of strains in it. p

In the next working position the outer lead wires t secured to the innerend of the stem tube andextending down along the exhaust tube areautomatically raised into a horizontal position, so that later on thesewires are not in the way when the exhaust "tube is closed by fusion inthe sealing-off positions and are not fused off. For this purpose thereare in the path of movement of the lampa lead wire bender comprising twodouble hooks w set to be tangential to the exhaust tube k of a mount ina head 9 and displaced relative to each other. These hooks may bemounted on stationary supports w so as to swing towardand away from.each other and thus supports 10. can, as shown, be'placed on thesegment-like heating oven w-extending over the exhaust positions 11 to23, or in any other desired manner. The exhaust tube of the lamp cominginto working position 10 presses these double hooks 'w somewhat a art,whereupon the lead wires '25 depending rom the stemtube and lyingalongside the exhaust tube are caught in the forward bends 'w'- of thedouble hooks. When the lamp moves further into the next working position11, the lead wires 25 which are held fast in these forward bends 'w arebent up as the'wires move" out of these bends and are bent high into ahorizontal position and ,kept there by the bends. In order to insure thebending up of the lead wires the hooks have rear bends w which hold anylead wires not caught by l tent in their entire passage through themachine. In the different working POSltlOIlSYll to 23, every lamp'is, inthe manner known in rotatable exhaust apparatus, connected several timesto a pro-vacuum pump and to several fine pumps and automatically conneted if desired to gas filling receptacles. hould a lamp have becomedamaged, perhaps by a defect in the sealing-in process, it

is automatically sealed ofi in the first pump position 11 closely below.the stem 72?. This automatic sealing off of the defective lamp iscontrolled by'a valve 3 which is placed at .Working position 11 at theentrance to the oven and is in communication with that conduit of thestationary valve seat a which leads to the rough or pre-vacuum pump.This control valve g which is responsive toa leaky lamp conslsts, asseen 111 F1g. 10, of a closed casmg, containing two flexible diaphragmsor membranes fl/ 3 mounted on opposite sides of a partition y in thecasing. The two membranes form the outside walls of'two chambers 7 3separated from each other by the partition 3 and are in communicationwith one another through a port in the partition controlled by a valve:1 on a stem 3 which extends through the intermediate partition 3 1 Thevalye y ordinarily shuts oif the chambers 3 3 from each other, so thatthe combustion gas or combustion mixture fed to chamber 3 by conduit 1cannot flow into chamber 1 and from this through conduit y to a sealingofl' burner 3 mounted in the heating oven in position to fuse theexhaust tube of a passing lamp. The lowermost chamber y of the controlvalve is formed by the casing and'the lower membrane fi and is connectedb conduit y with the prevacuum pump, and y conduit 3 through the rotaryvalve (1, b of the machine, with the interior of the lamp which is inthe working position 11. Theuppermost'valve chamber y isformedby thecasingand theupper membrane 3 and is connected with a constant vacuumwhich may be one of the fine vacuum pumps, by the tube 6 I conduit 3 Inthehppermost chamber there may be further provided to advanta e a springa which by pressure on the upper-- most membrane y presses the valvedisc 3 tightly to its seat. If the lamp which reaches working position11 is perfect, the pressure in chamber y and that in chamber 11 are sonearly the same that the valvedisc 3 is kept tightly on its seat bythe'action of spring 12 As soon however as a leaky lamp reaches thisworking position, air will leak into the lowest chamber y therebydisturbing the posi-. tion of. equilibrium of both membranes 1 ,'y

since the fine vacuum pump maintains in the uppermost chamber 3 apressure so much lower than that in the lower chamber 3 into whichthe.air is leaking that the upper membrane islifted, thereby raising thevalve disc y and overcoming the spring y: Connection between the twocentral chambers 51 'y is established by the lifting of the valve discy, and the combustion gas thereby passes at once through the opening ofthe partition :1 to the sealing ofl' burner y, which then forms ablowpipe flame, which meltsoflt' 0105c to the stem tube or flare 71F-theexhaust tn 7 k of the lamp at working position 11.

This automatic sealing oif of leaky lamps is very important for theoperation of the combined sealing-in and exhaust machine, as

lamps'quickly and remove them by hand. Ifa leaky lampis notautomatically sealed. off,

but goes through the other pump positions of the machine, several of thelamps following the leaky lamp would not be sufficiently exhausted, asthe leaky lamp permits a passage of air into the different pumps andthus dangerously decreases their Working capacity.

In order that the rubber stoppers inserted in the heads may not bedamaged by the heat of the heating oven so while the lamps are on thepumps, the different outer sleves g of the heads have, cooling jackets gwhich are continually traversed by a cooling liquid, for example water.The cooling liquid is advan- 'tageously fed through each cooling jacket9 as shown in Fig. 1, by a supply-or distributing tube g and a dischargeconduit 9" which delivers the cooling liquid to a collecting trough 2advantageously displaced relativeto each other by 180, which, as soon'asthe delivery through a conduit fork has been'pushed forward, seal of!the exhaust tube close to the stem. The lamp resting on the deliveryfork but still dependent from the bulb holding fork i canthen beconveniently lifted out by the operator and deposited in a collectingcontainer. By

-ineans of the delivery fork 2, the'sealed-oif and detached lamp canalsobe automatically lifted from the bulb holding fork i and beautomatically deposited. To obtain this result it is only necessary totip up the liftingofl'- fork in its forward position and then to soturnor swing it about after or duringthe withdrawal, that the lampresting on the delivery fork automatically drops into a converyorductarranged beside the delivery fork.

In order to prevent with the greatest cer tainty any damage to theleading in wires t when sealing off the lamp, the delivery forkara-dially movable to the machine is provided with a spring'catch'whiohcatches and turns up any dependent lead wire during the forward movementof the delivery fork. The catch may consist for example, as shown, of asingle arm lever 2 which is ordinarily held byfa spring, 2 against astationary stop 2' and which carries at the forward (1 a'hook shapedspring a". In the forward movement of the fork a the bend .of the springz strikes against-the 'exhaust tube 71. and slides about theexhaust/tube by swinging, out the lever '2 Any lea d .wire which may estill depending fromfihe stem tube and lying alongside the exhaust tubeis then caught by. the bend 'of the hook spring 2 and bent uphorizontally in the further. forward movement of the fork a into itsforward position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 1.

. ,Inthe sealing-off position 24 of the ma-w chine the lamp, after-thesealing-oft is completed, is advantageously subjected in the knownmanner to a test as to its good vacuum, by bringing the lead wires intoconnection with a source of current.

In the further rotation of the spider the head 9 still carrying the stubend. of the sealed-off exhaust tube again comes into working position 1.In this-working position tube 7 leading to the head is connected pressedair tends to blow out the stub end of the exhaust tube, but cannot do soas long as the exhaust tube end is clamped fast in the rubber stopper 1and the centering jaws lt.

-After a few moments halt of the head in working position 1 theautomatic release of the rubber'stopper and the centerin jaws Z iseffected, as previously describedfby the rotatable key a and theupwardly actuated pull rod, m, and the compressed air becomes effectiveto force the released stub end of the exhaust tube out of the head 9.There can now be repeated the introduction of a mount and of a bulbeither in working position 1 or 2 and the subsequent operation 0 in theother working positions of the machine.

Due to thelarge number of working positions and to the fact that themachine need stop for only a few seconds in each working position, alarge number of lamps, six hundred and more can be continuouslyproducedby the machine in an hour..

The number of working posltions on the machine maybe smaller or larger,accord ing to requirement, The sealing-off of the lamp can be done intwo working positions instead of in one working position, and that insuch manner, that in the first sealing-off position the exhaust tube isanerely fused shut, and then is entirely melted through in the secondworking position. The fastening of the exhaust tube in the rubberstopper: and

the mode of movement of the sealingdn burners can also be done invarious wa s'. Then too the means for bending over the le ding in Iwires and for the sealing-off of the lamps may 1. The method ofmanufacturing incandescent lamps and similar articles comprising a bulband a mount havin anexhaust tube, which consists in holding t e mountand carrying it bodily along a predetermined path b means of saidexhaust tube, placing the bu b over the mount at a. predetermined ;pointof said path and thereafter maintaining substantially unchanged therelative po sition of said mount and said bulb during the remainder ofthe travel of said mount, sealing said mount into said bulb at anotherpoint of its path, thereafter holding said sealed vessel by said exhausttube, exhai'lsting the'sealed vessel through said exhaust tube at stillanother point of its path,. and sealing off said vessel.

2. The method-of manufacturing a hermetieally sealed evacuated devicecomprising aglass vessel formed by sealing together two glass parts, onetubulated with an exhaust tube, and then exhausting the vessel, whichconsists in holding the tubulated part in predetermined position Jeysaid exhaust tube only, and continuing to hold the tubulated part insaid position by the exhaust tube while the other part is broughtintosealing in re'- lation. to it and said tubulated part is sealedinto'said other part and then exhausting the sealed vessel so formedthrough said tubulatedbpart while it is positioned by said exhaust tu e.

3. The method of manufacturing an incandescent lamp by sealing togethera bulb and a mount, one tubulated with an exhaust tube, and exhaustingthrough the tubulated part, which consists in holding the tubulated partin position. solely by said exhaust tube throughout the sealing in andexhaustof said lamp, bringingthe untubulated part into sealing inrelation to said tubulated part while it. is so held and sealing saidparts together to form said lamp, and exhausting the sealed in lampthrough said exhaust tube while so held.

4. The method of manufacturing incandeswhile so held by the exhausttube, her1neticall sealing said mount into said bulb while sai mount isso held and thereby forming a sealed vessel, and connecting said exhaustconduit to an exhaust pump and exhausting the sealed vessel through saidexhaust tube while still so held. j

5. In a machine of the character described, an exhaust head comprisi g atubular boss, a tubular ,rubber stopper in. said boss for receiving anexhaust tube, and centering jaws concentric with the bore of saidstopper and movable radially thereof to grip an exhaust tube andcentenit in said stopper.

6. In a machine of the character described, an exhaust head comprisirtga tubular boss, a tubular rubber stopper in said boss having conicalends, a compression ring at each end to'be movable radially of the boreof saidstop-per to center an exhaust tube in said to bring each headinto working positions m of said stopper and each ring having a conicalrecess to coo erate with the conical end of said stopper an said rijn sbeing movable toward each other longitudinally of said stoper tocompresssaid stopper and constrict its.

. ore.

- 7 In a machine of'the character described, an exhaust head comprisinga tubular rubber stopper having a conical end, a' ring having a conlcalrecess engaging said end of 531d stopper, and movable toward the otherend of said stopper to compress said stopper and its bore, and centeringjaws pivoted on said ring QPP y 8. lln a machine of the characterdescribed, an exhaust head comprising a tubular boss, a tubular rubberstopper in saidboss, center-v ing jaws mounted in said boss tomoveradially of the bore of said stopper and having cheeks inclined tothebore hf said stopper, and a tension ring concentric wth said stopper andmovable'longitudinally thereof and having inclined surfaces toengagewiththe inclined cheeks of said centering jaws to close them, anda spring tending to move said ring into position to permit said jaws toopen.

9. Ina machine of the character described,

the combination of a frame, a member mounted thereon to move step bystep and having an exhaust head and a valve for controlling theconnection of said head to an exhaust pump, said head comprising atubular boss, a tubular rubber stopper in said boss,- means movablelongitudinally of said head for compressin said stopper to constrict itsbore and a rotatable cap on the lower end of said head for actuating byits rotation said stoppercompressing means, and a rotatable key mountedinsald frame to register witln sald head and to move yertically intoengagement cap while said withsaid cap to rotate said member isstationary. I p

I 10. In a machine of the character described the combination of aframe, a member mounted on said frame rotatably and provided with aplurality of exhaust heads and a'valve' for controlling the connectionof said heads to an exhaust pum eachhead comprising a verti-' caltubular oss having therein a tubular rubber stopper, means forcompressing said.

stopper to constrict its bore, and a rotatable cap on the bottom of eachhead for actuating said means to compress said stopper,-'driving meansfor rotatingsaid member step by step succession, and two rotatable andverticall movable keys mounted on said frame at adjacent'workingpositions to register with the 7 caps on said exhaustheads in said positions,

and means actuated by said driving means while said member 1s stationaryfor simultaneously raising said keys into engagement with the caps onthe heads in'registry there-,

. with, turning said keys in opposite direction to compress the stopperin onehead and to release the stopper in the adjacent head,simultaneously lowering said keys.

11. In a machine of the character de-v scribed, thecombination of arotatable member having thereon an exhaust head and a valve forcontrolling the connection ofsaid head to an exhaust pump, a tubularrubber stopper in said head for holding an exhaust tube in andconnecting it air-tight to said head, means for fusing off the exhausttube in said head, and means controlled by said valve forsubsequentlysupplying air under pressure to said head to blow out thefused ofl' end 'of the exhaust tube.

12. In a machine of the character described,

the combination of a movable n1ember,'a bulb ing-in Wires and engage thestem of the mount to support it. 13. In a machine of the characterdescrlbed, the combination of an exhaust head comprising a fixed tubularboss, a tubular rubber stop per in said boss and a water jacketed sleevemovably, telescoped on said boss to substantially enclose the upper partof said boss and its contained rubber stopper when said sleeve islowered. Y

14. In a machine of the character described, the combination of arotatable member having a plurality of work holders, each comprising anexhaust head and a cooperating bulb fork in alignment with said head,and a valve for automatically controlling the connection of said headsto an exhaust pump during the rotation of said member, driving means forrotating said member step by step, and means controlled by'said drivingmeans for autoposition and subsequently at a succeeding positionlowering the'bulb fork to bring the bulb into place, over the mount heldin the exhaust head. 7

' 15. In a machihe of the character described,

the combination of an intermittently rotatable member having an exhaustheadand a .bulb fork mounted in alignment with said head on a verticallyreciprocating rod, driving mechanism for rotating said member, areciprocating push rod mounted to align with said rod when said rotarymember is-stationary, a resilient catch forh olding said lifter ineither of two extreme positions, and push rod actuating means controlledby said driv- 'matically moving each bulb fork away from .lllScooperating exhaust head at 'the loading 30 and move ting mechanism formoving said ush rod into one extreme position when sai bulb rod is inregistry with it and thereby moving said bulb older away from theexhaust head,,and for positivelymoying said push rod to the otherextreme of its position'in another positiori of said member-to permitsaid bulb hold; er to return to its initial position, and thereby placethe bulb over a mount in said exhaust head.

16. In a machine of the character described, the combination ofmovablemember having an exhaust head fixed thereon and a-cooperatingbulb fork mounted on said member to move in alignment with said head,driving mechanism for moving said member intermittently to place saidhead in a plurality. of working positions in succession, sealing-inburners mounted adjacent the path of each i 2 exhaust head and bulb forkin position to seal a mount in said head into a bulb held in said bulbfork, auxiliary burners mounted adjacent said sealing-in burners and ata position further along the path of said seale d-in bulb to keepplastic the joint between the stem and the bulb While the head is insaid position, and means actuated by said driving mechanism to raisesaid bulb fork while said head IS in said position and said joint isplastic e bulb slightly away from the exhaust head and thereby stretchand work the plastic joint. v

17. In a machine of the character described, the combination of arotatable member havmg thereon means for holding a mount and a bulb inproper relation,'burners adjacent the path of said means to seal saidmount into said bulb and simultaneously melt off the surplus portion ofthe neck of the bulb, 40 and stationary members mounted adjacent thepath of the mount 'holder'to form a passage inwhich the melted offportion of the bulb neck is broken when carried into it by the movementof said member. s

18. In a machine of the character described, the combination of arotatable member, means on said member for holding a mount and abulb insealing-in relation, burners mounted adjacent the path of said member toseal said mount into said bulb, and leading-in wire fingers mountedadjacent the path of movement of said member to bend back leading-inwires substantially parallelto the exhaust tube, A 19. In a machine ofthe character described, the combination of a rotatable me her, a mountholder and a bulb holder onsai member, sealing-in burners adjacent thepath of said holders to seal the mount into a bulb, and double fingersmounted adjacent and tangentialto the path of said mount holder tooscillate into and out of operative relation to the exhaust tube, and toenterbetween the exhaust tube and leading-in wires parallel l 66thereto, said fingers being shaped to displace said leading-in wiresaway from the exhaust said member, burners mounted adjacent the path ofsaid member to seal the; mount into a bulb, a sealing off burner mountedadjacent the path of said member to seal ofi the exhaust tube in saidmount holder, fork mounted adjacent the sealing ofi burner and'having aresilient stop mounted to catch and bend back any leading-in wireparallel to the exhaust tube, and means for moving said delivery forktoward'and away from the exhaust tube in said holder.

21. In a machine of the character described, the combination of arotatable member provided with exhaust heads, and a valve forcontrolling connections of saidhead to the preliminary vacuum pump, andto the final vacuum pump, of a valve responsive to the variation inpressure caused by'a leaky lamp beingconnectedthrough said valve to thepreliminary vacuum pump, and means actuated by said valve toautomatically seal off the exhaust tube of the leaky pump.

, 22. In a machine of the character described, the combination of arotatable member provided with exhaust heads and a valve for controllingthe connection ofsaid head to a vacuum pump, of age through one of saidheads comprising a leak responsive valve comprising twochamhers eachcontaining a partition, a valye 1n said partition, a flexible membranedividing each chamber into two parts, \the other part being connected tothe vacuum pump and the inner parts connected to a gas supply, where bya variation in pressure due to a leak through one of said-exhaust headswill move said membranes and thereby open a sealing ofi' burner suppliedfrom said inner parts and. mounted in position to seal ofi the defectiveexhaust tube.

a delivery means responsive to leakthe valve in said partition andpermit gas to flow and 23. In a device of the character described thecombination of a rotatable member having fixed thereon an exhaust headforholding a mount with a projecting exhaust tube and comprising atubular rubber for gripping said exhaust tube to position the mount, and

also to make an'air-tight connection with said exhaust tube, a bulbholder on said member'to suspend a bulb with its neck over a mount heldin said head,'sealing-in burners mounted adjacent the path traversed bysaid exhaust head during the first part of its travel to seal the mountin said head into the neck of a bulb in said'holder, and meansresponsive to movement of said member for automatically exhausting thesealed in bulb through the bore of said head after it is beyond range ofsaid sealing in burners and while it is traversing another part of itspath.

' Patent No, 1,710,428.

- 24. Iii ,a' combined sealing in and exhaust machine ;for incandescentlamps' and similar devices the combination of sealmg in burners, anexhaust'pump a tubular exhaust head for holding and making an air tightconnec tion to theexhaust tube of the tubulated part of a lampga holderassociated with said head to hold'the untubulated part of'the lam insealing in relation to the tubulated par in said head, and means forcarrying said head and bolder bodily into and out of range of saidseal-ing in burners to seal said lamp parts together and thenconnectingsaid head to said exhaust pump. I

25; In .;a combined scaling in and exhaust machinefor incandescent lampsand similar devices a movable carrier, a tubular exhaust head on saidcarrier for holding and making an air ti ht connection to the exhausttube of the ,tubulated part of alamp, a holder associated on saidcarrier with said head to hold the untubulated part of the lamp insealing in relation tothe tubulated part in said head, seaIing inburners adjacent one part of the path of said head, exhaust meanscontrolled by said carrier, and actuating means for moving said carrierto carry said head into and out of range of said burners during one partof its travel and then to connect it to said exhaust means during asubsequent part of its travel.

26. A combined scaling in and exhaust machine for incandescent lamps andsimilar devices comprising a rotatable spider, a tubular exhaust head onsaid spider for holding and making an air tight connection to theexhaust tube of a tubulated mount, a bulb holder associated with saidhead to hold a bulb in I cannncarn or connect on.

scaling in relation to a, meat held in said head, sealing-in burnersmounted adjacent the path of said head, an exhaust valve rotatable withsaid spider and having an exhaust port, actuating means for rotatingsaid spider to carrysaid'head into and out of range of for sealing inand exhausting a lamp having 7 a mount with a projecting exhaust tube,the combination of an intermittently rotatable member having fixed on itan exhaust head comprising a tubular elastic holder for making an airtight connection to the exhaust tube of the mount, drivin means formoving said member intermittent y to place said head in anumber ofworking positions in succession during its travel, a bulb holder on saidmember in alignment w th said exhaust head, a scaling in burnerrotatable about an axls n alignment with said exhaust head when saidhead is in a working position near the beginning of its travel and in aplane parallel to the plane of movement of said exhaust head fordirecting a flame upon said bulb to seal a mount held in said exhausthead into the bulb held in said bulb fork, a valve rotatable with saidmember and having a port communicat-.

ing with the bore of said head, and a cooperating valve seat having anexhaust port which registers with said valve port when .said head is inanother and subsequent working position.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 21st day ofSeptember, 1925.

KARL MEY.

smme'hprii 2a, 1929. a

It is hereby certified that error vappearsin the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page '9,line 92, claim 21, for the word "pump" read "lamp"; and that the saidLetters Patent should be read with this correction therein'that the samemay conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 11th m of; June, A; Yu. 1929. I

- (Seal) v M. a Moore, hot-ing Commissioner of Patentsv.

CERTIFICATE OF CQRRECTIUNV Patent No. 1,710,428. Granted April 23, 1929.to

KARL MEY.

it is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 9 Him92, claim 21, for the word "pump" read "lamp"; and that the said LettersPatent should be read with this correction therein that the same mayconform to the record oi the casein the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 11th day of June, A. i). 1929.

M. L Moore (Seal) Aeting Commissioner of Patents.

